''Paddington 2'' is a 2017 live-action animated

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Paul King and written by King and

Simon Farnaby Simon Farnaby (born 2 April 1973) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he starred in the television series ''Horrible Histories'', ''Yonderland'' and ''Ghosts''. He has writte ...

. Based on the stories of

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

, created by

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

(to whom the film is also dedicated, Bond having died that year), it is the sequel to ''

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

'' (2014), and is produced by Heyday Films and

StudioCanal UK StudioCanal Limited, operating as StudioCanal (formerly Optimum Releasing), is the official branch of StudioCanal in the British Isles. The company releases many films, including foreign, anime (mostly Studio Ghibli), independent, art, Britis ...

. The film, a British-French-Luxembourgish co-production, stars

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

as the voice of Paddington, with

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a no ...

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear fo ...

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

, Jim Broadbent,

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

, and

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

in live-action roles. In the film, Paddington tries to get a present for his adoptive aunt's birthday, but when the intended gift is stolen from a shop and he is wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the theft, he and his family have to find the real culprit and prove Paddington's innocence. The film was confirmed to be in development in April 2015.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in October 2016 and ended in June 2017. The film was theatrically released on 10 November 2017 in the United Kingdom and 6 December 2017 in France, and grossed $227 million worldwide. The film received widespread critical acclaim on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

and gained an approval rating of 100% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, becoming the highest-rated film on the site until a single negative review was registered in 2021. It is widely considered one of the best films of the 2010s, for both children and adults. It received three nominations at the

71st British Academy Film Awards The 71st British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 18 February 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2017. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Telev ...

: Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for Grant. A third film, '' Paddington in Peru'', is in development.

Plot

, having settled with the Brown family in Windsor Gardens, has become popular in his community, offering people emotional support in various ways. To purchase a unique pop-up book of London in Samuel Gruber's antique shop for his aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, Paddington performs several odd jobs and saves his wages, but Gruber's shop is burgled and the book is stolen. Paddington gives chase, but the thief escapes, and Paddington is framed. The thief returns home and is revealed to be Phoenix Buchanan, an egotistical actor who lives near the Browns. In court, although Gruber states that he does not believe that Paddington stole the book, with no evidence of the thief's existence, Paddington is convicted and sent to prison. While in prison, Paddington befriends many of the inmates, including the short-tempered chef Knuckles, who recruits Paddington, impressed by his marmalade sandwich recipe. The Browns work to clear Paddington's name, putting up sketches of the thief. Buchanan uses the book to locate a series of clues within London's landmarks, which he believes will unveil the location of a secret treasure. During their efforts to prove Paddington's innocence, the Browns encounter a fortune teller who informs them that the book leads to the hidden fortune of the original author. With Paddington inside, the prison is a much livelier place, but Paddington struggles to remain positive when the Browns are unable to prove his innocence, but keep hunting. Knuckles, Phibs and Spoon later tell Paddington that although the Browns mean well, they will eventually forget about him. Becoming convinced that Buchanan is the culprit, the Browns look for the stolen book inside his house. They find a secret attic where Buchanan's various costumes are stashed, including the costume of the thief. Buchanan returns home and they are forced to leave. Meanwhile, the Browns' investigation causes them to miss visiting Paddington in prison. Paddington, thinking that the Browns have in fact forgotten him, joins Knuckles, Phibs and Spoon in a prison break. They promise to aid in proving his innocence, but after escaping, they promptly abandon the idea in order to leave the country, inviting Paddington to join them. Paddington refuses and, while avoiding the police, uses a public telephone to contact the Browns, who assert that Buchanan is the real culprit. To catch him, they arrange to meet at Paddington Station, where a carnival train carrying the supposed location of the hidden fortune is due to leave. Paddington reaches the station, disguising himself as a

litter bin A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...

to avoid the police, and boards the train just as it leaves. The Browns pursue on a LNER Peppercorn Class A1, at the opposite platform. Buchanan finds the hidden fortune, but is thwarted by Paddington. Henry, Judy and Mrs. Bird catch up and board the other train to confront Buchanan, who overwhelms them and escapes. He severs the coupling of the train's rear carriage (with Paddington locked inside), but is photographed by Judy while holding the book, before Henry knocks him out. Paddington is still trapped in the rear carriage when it derails and crashes into a nearby river. Mary tries to rescue Paddington but struggles to open the locked carriage; she is soon assisted by Knuckles and the other inmates, who had a change of heart and decide to help Paddington as promised. Paddington becomes very ill and falls into a coma, but wakes up on Lucy's birthday. He learns that he has been exonerated, and that Buchanan has been arrested. He is disappointed that he cannot give Lucy the book, which was taken in as evidence, but discovers that the Browns, with the help of various other people in the neighbourhood, made sure Lucy could come to London and see it for herself. When answering the door to her, Paddington rushes up and hugs her, wishing her a happy birthday. During the credits, Knuckles, Phibs, and Spoon are pardoned, and Knuckles opens a sandwich business. Buchanan is sentenced to 10 years in prison; six months later, he is shown to be putting his experience as a performer to further use by hosting shows for the inmates and providing entertainment throughout the building. The book was handed over to the Browns after it was released from the authorities.

Cast

Main cast *

as Henry Brown *

as Mary Brown *

as Phoenix Buchanan *

as Knuckles McGinty * Madeleine Harris as Judy Brown *

Samuel Joslin Samuel Louis Joslin (born 18 January 2002) is a British film and television actor. He is best known for playing the role of Thomas Bennett in '' The Impossible'' and Jonathan Brown in ''Paddington'' and its sequel. Career In 2012, Joslin got ...

as Jonathan "J-Dog" Brown *

as Mrs. Bird * Jim Broadbent as Samuel Gruber *

as Mr. Curry Voices *

as Paddington Brown *

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

as Aunt Lucy * Michael Gambon as Uncle Pastuzo Supporting cast *

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

as Felicity Fanshaw *

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

as Madame Kozlova *

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...

as Colonel Lancaster *

as Barry *

Jessica Hynes Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes (''née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spac ...

as Miss Kitts *

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British-born Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in '' Shine'', Locke in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Darby Sabini in the BBC One series ''Peaky Bl ...

as Phibs * Aaron Neil as Spoon * Tom Davis as T-Bone *

Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

as Judge Gerald Biggleswade *

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom ''The Kumars at No. 42''. H ...

as Dr. Jafri *

Marie-France Alvarez Marie-France Alvarez is a French actress. Born in Paris, from a Congolese mother and a Spanish father, she trained at LAMDA in London and L'école des Enfants Terribles in Paris. Career Her first appearance on British Television was in the role ...

as Mademoiselle Dubois *

Robbie Gee Robbie Gee (born 24 March 1970) is a British actor, best known for his ''Desmond's'' character "Lee Stanley", for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper '' Snatch'', and for his comedy roles in TV series like ''The Real McCoy'' and '' The Crou ...

as Mr. Barnes *

Maggie Steed Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

as Gertrude Biggleswade *

Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...

as a Forensic Investigator *

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

as a Prosecutor * Enzo Squillino Jr. as Mr Giuseppe *

Jamie Demetriou Jamie Demetriou (born November 1987) is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Bus Rodent in ''Fleabag'' and for creating, co-writing, and starring in ''Stath Lets Flats''. For the latter, he won Best Male A ...

as The Professor

Production

In April 2015,

David Heyman David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. Heyman secured the rights to the ''Harry Potter'' film series in 1999 and went on to produce all eight installments of the franchise. He also ...

, the producer of ''

'' (2014), confirmed that a sequel was in development. It was also announced that Paul King would return to direct, and co-write the screenplay with

. Heyman's Heyday Films, and

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

, produced the film, making it a British-French co-production. By October 2016, most of the cast of ''Paddington'' —

, Jim Broadbent,

, Madeleine Harris,

and

— were confirmed to be returning for the sequel, joined by

and

. Grant described his character as "enormously vain and narcissistic".

began on 18 October. Many of the domestic interiors were filmed on stages at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

and

Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film ...

, but producers also shot at key central London locations like

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...

and

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. Jonah Coombes, supervising location on both ''Paddington'' and the sequel, stated, “We were looking for locations that celebrated London and delivered the kind of cinematic scale we were looking for.”

Framestore Framestore is a British animation, visual effects company and creative studio based on Chancery Lane in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired (and subsequently merged with) the Computer Film Company in 1997. It works on feature films and telev ...

provided the visual effects for the film, including the elaborate pop-up book sequence. On 7 February 2017, filming featured in the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

documentary series ''

All Over the Workplace ''All Over the Workplace'' is a British children's factual television series is a spin off of '' All Over the Place'' hosted by Alex Riley and narrated by Ed Petrie (who is the host of '' All Over the Place''). The show is produced by CBBC Pr ...

''. Filming took place in London's

Little Venice Little Venice is a district in West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction forms a triangular shape basin. Many of the buildi ...

for three days, and also at Shepton Mallet Prison and Knebworth Park.

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best ...

choreographed the prison dance scene. Principal photography wrapped on 27 June 2017.

, the creator of

, died the same day, and the film was dedicated to him.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by

Dario Marianelli Dario Marianelli (born 21 June 1963) is an Italian composer known for his frequent collaborations with director Joe Wright. Early life, education Marianelli was born in Pisa, Italy. He came from a musically inclined family and learned the pian ...

. Additional music in the film, not included on the soundtrack recording: "

Rain on the Roof ''Rain on the Roof'' is a television drama by Dennis Potter, broadcast by ITV on 26 October 1980. It is the second in a loosely connected trilogy of plays exploring language and betrayal, produced for London Weekend Television by the independe ...

" ( Stephen Sondheim) –

; performed during the end credits.

Release

''Paddington 2'' had its world premiere in London on 5 November 2017, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 10 November. It was released on 6 December in France, 7 December in Germany, 21 December in Australia and New Zealand, and 12 January 2018 in the United States.

Distribution

StudioCanal distributed ''Paddington 2'' in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. The film was originally set to be distributed by

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

and Dimension Films in the United States through their sub-label, TWC-Dimension, as the last film was. Following the sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein Company founder

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...

, Heyday Films and StudioCanal looked for another American distributor for ''Paddington 2'', because they believed that a film for children should not be associated with the Weinstein scandal. In mid-November 2017,

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

, which distributed Heyday's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' films and was already distributing the ''Paddington'' films in Spain, acquired the film's North American distribution rights for $32 million (£24 million). Warner Bros. also has the

right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...

to distribute future ''Paddington'' films in North America.

Marketing

From 9 October 2017, five pop-up installations of Paddington's pop-up book, featured in the film, were placed around London, at Peter's Hill,

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

, Peninsula Square and

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...

. The event was promoted by Visit London. The launch was attended by Hugh Bonneville and

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

. On 16 October 2017, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

attended a ''Paddington 2'' charity event at Paddington Station, along with some of the cast and crew of the film. A video game based on the film, ''Paddington Run'', was released on

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

, Android and

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...

devices on 25 October 2017. On 26 October 2017, it was announced that Paddington would appear in the 2017

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

Christmas advertisement. A teaser was released on 4 November 2017. The advertisement itself was released on 7 November 2017 and had its television premiere on the Pride of Britain Awards 2017. Whishaw returned to voice Paddington, and the advertisement also featured

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-base ...

and

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...

Home media

''Paddington 2'' was released on streaming platform

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

on 5 March 2018. The film was released in the United Kingdom on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

, DVD & 4K

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...

on 12 March 2018. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the United States on 24 April 2018 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

''Paddington 2'' grossed $40.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $186.4 million in other countries (including $59.4 million in the United Kingdom), for a worldwide total of $227.3 million. In its first weekend in the United Kingdom, the film grossed $10.9 million (£8.3 million), more than the first film ($8/£6 million), becoming StudioCanal's highest-grossing film opening weekend in the United Kingdom to date. In its second weekend, the film dropped 20% and grossed another $8.8 million (£6.6 million). In the United States and Canada, ''Paddington 2'' was released alongside the openings of '' The Commuter'' and ''

Proud Mary "Proud Mary" is a song written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was released by Fantasy Records as a single from the band's second studio album, '' Bayou Country'', which was issued by the same ...

'', as well as the wide expansion of '' The Post'', and was projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,702 theatres in opening weekend. It made $2.4 million on its first day and $11 million over the weekend (including $15 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend), finishing 7th at the box office, and marking a near-50% decline from the opening of the first film. It made $8 million in its second weekend, dropping 27% and finishing 6th.

Critical response

On review aggregator

, ''Paddington 2'' has an approval rating of 99% based on 252 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Paddington 2'' honours its star's rich legacy with a sweet-natured sequel whose adorable visuals are matched by a story perfectly balanced between heartwarming family fare and purely enjoyable all-ages adventure." On 18 January 2018, it became the most-reviewed film ever to remain at 100% on the site, with 164 positive reviews, beating ''

Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the sequel to ''Toy Story'' (1995), it wa ...

'', which had 163 positive reviews at the time. '' Lady Bird'' had previously beaten the record the past November, but registered a negative review at 196. In 2021, the 100% score for ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' (1941), often regarded as the greatest film ever made, was changed to 99% following the inclusion of an 80-year-old negative review; some publications satirically labelled ''Paddington 2'' as a better film than ''Citizen Kane'' due to their respective scores. In May 2021, ''Paddington 2'' score dropped to 99% after a negative review from 2021 was registered on the site. On

, another review aggregator, the film has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". On French entertainment information publisher AlloCiné, the film has an average grade of 4.0/5 based on 22 critics. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor. Leslie Felperin of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, "''Paddington 2'' won't save the world, sadly, but its existence makes everything just that tiny bit better and more, well, bearable." Guy Lodge of ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' wrote, "Another near pawfect family entertainment, honouring the cosy, can-do spirit of

's stories while bringing them smoothly into a bustling, diverse 21st century London — with space for some light anti-Brexit subtext to boot." Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' wrote, "The film is pitched with insouciant ease and a lightness of touch at both children and adults without any self-conscious shifts in irony or tone: it's humour with the citrus tang of top quality thick-cut marmalade." In 2019, ''The Guardian'' ranked ''Paddington 2'' the 69th best film of the 21st century.

Accolades

Future

Television series

On 9 October 2017, StudioCanal announced that they were producing The Adventures of Paddington (2019 TV series), ''The Adventures of Paddington'', an animated series based on the film, with Whishaw reprising his role as Paddington. The series premiered worldwide on Nickelodeon in 2020.

Sequel

In June 2016, StudioCanal CEO Didier Lupfer stated that the studio was committed to making a third ''Paddington'' film. In November 2017, David Heyman told ''Digital Spy'' that though the script for a third film had not been developed, discussions about locations, ideas and scenes had already begun. In November 2018, Heyman noted that a third film was likely to happen, but that Paul King would not be back to direct, though he would still be involved in a prominent creative capacity. In February 2021, ''Paddington 3'' officially began development. In July 2021, StudioCanal announced that ''Paddington 3'' will begin shooting in the first quarter of 2022. The story for the third film was written by Paul King,

, and Mark Burton (writer), Mark Burton, and the screenplay by Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont (writer), James Lamont. In June 2022, the film's title ''Paddington in Peru'' and Dougal Wilson as director were announced, with principal photography now set to begin 2023.

References in other media

* In the 2022 film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage (playing a fictionalised version of himself) watches ''Paddington 2'' for the first time whilst bonding with another character, Javi (Pedro Pascal) who says the film "made him want to be a better man". Whilst at first being sceptical, Cage subsequently falls in love with the film.

References

External links

* * * {{Paul King 2010s British films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s fantasy comedy films 2010s French films 2017 comedy films 2017 films Animated films set in England Animated films set in London British children's adventure films British children's comedy films British children's fantasy films British prison films British sequel films Films about actors Films about bears Films about books Films about families Films about miscarriage of justice Films about prison escapes Films based on British novels Films based on children's books Films directed by Paul King (director) Films produced by David Heyman Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films set in amusement parks Films set in England Films set in London Films set on trains Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden Films shot in England Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in London Films shot in Somerset Films using motion capture Films with live action and animation French children's films French comedy films French fantasy films French sequel films Paddington Bear StudioCanal animated films StudioCanal films